Orthopedic chair



P 969 L. GOTTFRIED ETAL 3,464,754

ORTHOPEDIC CHAIR Filed Jan. 17. 1967 I8 INVENTORS LOUIS GOTTFRIED F 3 20 JACOB BERGER ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,464,754 ORTHOPEDIC CHAIR Louis Gottfried and Jacob Berger, New York, N.Y., as-

signors, by mesne assignments, to Rex-Stroll-O-Chair Company, New York, N.Y., a partnership Filed Jan. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 609,942 Int. Cl. A47c 7/46 US. Cl. 297-284 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to an orthopedic chair the seat and/or back of which comprises a rigid member which has at least one opening therein. An elastomer layer engages the rigid member and a front layer engages the elastomer layer. A rigid positioning member is disposed between the elastomer layer and the rigid member and the rear face of the rigid positioning member is disposed opposite the opening in the rigid member. A bolt extends through the opening of the rigid member for moving the positioning member, thereby causing the elastomer layer likewise to be moved and producing a curvature in the front layer. Finally, resilient means are provided for continuously urging the rear face of the positioning member against the movable bolt means. Advantageously, means for securing the front face of the positioning member to the elastomer layer can also be provided.

The present invention relates to orthopedic chairs, in general, and to orthopedic baby-, youthor adult-chairs or high-chairs, or the like, having a contour adjustable device comprising a positioning member disposed between an elastomer layer and a rigid backing board, for positioning the chair in a plurality of variable contour positions, in particular.

Specifically the present invention is an improvement of the positioning member of an orthopedic chair disclosed in our copending patent application Ser. No. 598,733, entitled Orthopedic Chair, filed Dec. 2, 1966, and now abandoned.

Such an orthopedic chair is adjusted by a positioning member, which is moved forwardly by a bolt movably connected to a rigid backing board, which causes the positioning member to be pushed forwardly and which in turn pushes the elastomer layer forward causing a convex curvature in the chair. The positioning member is not connected to the bolt, simplifying the structure and permitting the bolt to turn without turning the positioning member.

It is one object of the present invention to provide, in an orthopedic chair of the above-mentioned type, an improved, economical and sturdy structure whereby the curvature of the chair may be changed by adjustment of the bolt without connecting the bolt to the positioning member.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic chair comprising a back rest and seat, the back rest and/ or seat including a rigid member having at least one opening therein, an upholstery layer, an elastomer layer disposed between the rigid member and the upholstery layer, a rigid positioning member disposed between the elastomer layer and the rigid member and having its rear or bottom face opposite the opening, the rigid positioning member having a front or upper face facing the elastomer layer and substantially parallel to the upholstery layer, a movable bolt disposed through the opening of the rigid member for moving the positioning member forwardly or upwardly thereby causing the elastomer layer to be moved forwardly or upwardly and producing a curvature in the upholstery layer and a ice resilient means for continuously urging the rear or bottom face of the positioning member against the movable bolt.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic chair in accordance with the abovementioned objective further comprising a means for securing the front or upper face of the positioning member to the elastomer layer.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic chair in accordance with the previously mentioned objective, wherein the resilient means comprises an elastic band and is connected to and between the positioning member and the rigid board.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic chair in accordance with the previously mentioned objective, wherein the elastic band is secured at its ends to the rigid board forming loops therebetween, and the elastic band and the loops are aligned on both lateral sides of the movable bolt. The positioning member is disposed in the loops, the loops abutting the front face of the positioning member.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic chair in accordance with the second mentioned objective, further comprising a positioning sleeve means centrally located on the bottom or rear face of the positioning member and having a diameter greater than the diameter of the movable bolt. The movable bolt is freely disposed in the positioning sleeve means providing centralizing of the positioning member and preventing misalignment thereof during movement.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective rear view of an orthopedic chair adapted in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the chair, partly broken away for better demonstration.

Referring now to the drawing, and in particular to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the chair comprises a tubular frame 1 comprising a U-shaped base 2 including lateral leg members 3, upwardly extending members 4 and horizontally disposed members 5 extending rearwardly from the upper end of the upwardly extending members 4. A seat 6 is disposed between and intermediate to the ends of the upwardly extending members 4 and secured to the latter by any suitable means, such as a screw bolt 7. A back rest 8 is secured to the rear end of the seat 6 by conventional means and can be arranged adjustable relative to the seat 6 for instance by a structure disclosed in applicants own prior Patent No. 3,069,202, dated Dec. 18, 1962.

Referring now again to the drawing, and in particular to FIGS. 1-4, it will be seen that an adjustable back contour device 10 is shown which comprises a rearward rigid board 11, preferably a wooden board, located at the backmost portion of the back rest 8, and constituting the entire back portion of the chair. The rigid board 11 is covered by a plastic sheet 11a. A front layer 12 which may comprise any flexible upholstery, such as foam rubber 12a, heat sealed between plastic sheet 12b or a simple plastic sheet, is located at the front portion of the back rest 8. Disposed between the rigid board 11 and the front layer 12 is an elastomer layer 13 of conventional materials, such as, for example, rubber, foam rubber or polyurethane elastomers, or the like.

The rearward rigid board 11 is formed with preferably a single opening 14 at a height above the top 12 of the seat 6 at approximately the position of the small of the back of a person of general height for which the chair is suited, though more than one such opening can be provided.

Secured to the rearward rigid board 11 at the back thereof by screws 16a is a guide piece 16 of metal, plastic or any other suitable material, having a threaded opening 17 aligned with the single opening 14 of the rearward rigid board 11, through which opening 14 is inserted a bolt 18 having threads 19 engaging the inner threads of the threaded opening 17 of the guide piece 16.

At one end of the bolt 18 extending beyond the rearward rigid board 11, is a knob 20 rigidly secured to the bolt for turning the bolt 18 in the threaded opening 17 of the guide piece 16, the threads 19 thereby causing the bolt 18 to move forward or backward relative to the rearward rigid board 11, depending upon the direction in which the knob 20 is turned.

An elongated rigid positioning member 21, made preferably of wood, plastic, or the like, extends horizontally across the back rest 8 (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4) adjacent the single opening 14 and substantially parallel to the upholstered front layer 12, as well as substantially parallel to the rearward rigid board 11. The rear face 22 of the positioning member 21 is disposed adjacent and contiguous to the inner free end 23 of the bolt 18, but is not connected thereto. A positioning sleeve 32 preferably made of metal or the like is affixed to the center of the rear face 22 of the positioning member 21 by nails 33 or any other suitable means. The positioning sleeve 32 includes a cylinder 34 which has an inner diameter sufiiciently larger than the outer diameter of the free end 23 of the bolt 18 into which cylinder 34 the bolt 18 is freely disposed. The sleeve 32 simply insures that the positioning member 21 does not slip or misalign out of position prior to and during the movement of the bolt 18. The cylinder 34 of the positioning sleeve 32 may be formed with outwardly extending sloping edges to promote insertion of the bolt 18 therein, thereby aiding alignment. Preferably the cylinder 34 is of sufiicient length, so that once inserted, the bolt 18 is never removed from the cylinder 34 during normal operation. Such a sleeve provides a distinct improvement in the structure and performance thereof of our patent application Ser. No. 598,733, entitled Orthopedic Chair, filed Dec. 2, 1966. The positioning member is enabled to be displaced and a perfect alignment is achieved, by the positioning sleeve which may be a bore. Preferably two parallel and vertically oriented elastic bands 25 stapled at their ends 26, respectively, to the rearward rigid board 11, are looped around the ends of the positioning member 21, biasing the positioning member 21 rearwardly against the free end 23 of the bolt 18 at all times. The elastic bands 25 may comprise rubber bands or any other resilient means, including springs or the like, connected between the rigid board 11 and the position member 21.

The elastic bands 25 are laterally disposed on both sides of the bolt 18 and stapled to the rigid board 11 in very simple fashion by conventional staples 27 or other securing means forming loops 25a between the stapled ends 26 through which the positioning member 21 is disposed. Further the corresponding upper ends 28 of the elastic bands 25 (FIG. 4) and the corresponding lower ends 29 of the elastic bands are located above and below the bolt 18, respectively, and together with the lateral disposition of the elastic bands 25 provide a sturdy, elastic and stapled connection encompassing the bolt 18.

Between the loops 25a of the two elastic bands 25 in which the positioning member 21 is held, the front face 30 of the positioning member 21 may be atfixed to the elastomer layer 13, preferably by a layer of glue 31, cement or any other suitable means. The securing of the positioning member 21 to the elastomer layer can be omitted without interfering with the proper operation of 4 the back rest 8. Both the layer of glue 31 and the elastic bands 25 insure that the positioning member 21 is secured laterally in position.

In operation when the bolt 18 is turned by the knob 20, so as to move forwardly, the front free end 23 of the bolt 18 pushes the positioning member 21 forward thereby stretching the elastic bands 25, to accommodate forward movement of the positioning member relative to the rearward rigid board 11 (as shown in FIG. 3). The positioning member 21 accordingly moves forwardly toward the front layer 12b, it being held horizontally by the elastic bands 25, and not being connected to the bolt 18, does not turn. This causes the elastomer layer 13 also to move forwardly and to establish a convex curvature 12c adjacent thereto at the front layer 12 of the chair. At this position an advantageous back rest contour is formed, the size of which can be made as large as desired, the elastic band 25 being sufficient to stretch to all curvatures for which the chair is adapted.

When the knob 20' is turned in the reverse direction, the bolt 18, tends, to move backwardly, away from the rear face 22 of the positioning member 21, since it is not connected thereto, and since the positioning member 21 may be secured at its front face to the elastomer layer; however, the elastic bands 25 exert a rearward force against the positioning member 21, causing the positioning member 21 to automatically move backward against the free end 23 of the bolt 18. In this manner at no time does the free end 23 of the bolt 18 leave the rear face 22 of the positioning member. Since the front face 30 of the positioning member 21 may be secured to the elastomer layer 13, this backward movement of the positioning member 21 causes the elastomer layer 13 to be rearwardly moved in turn, thereby reducing the curvature of the back of the chair automatically.

Structural integrity and simplicity is achieved in that the free end 23 of the bolt 18 does not require engaging structure with the positioning member 21 for automatically producing joint backward movement of the positioning member 21 with the bolt 18, and no manual movement by a person or by a seated persons back is necessary to reduce the curvature. The mechanism for insuring the automatic contour adjustment is extremely simple and very inexpensive. At the same time complete structural integrity and long lasting improvement in operation is achieved. In addition, since the elastic bands support the positioning member adjacent the bolt, the positioning member is always adjacent the bolt in a position for adjustment of the curvature of the chair, whether or not the positioning member is secured to the elastomer layer.

Although described in terms of a back of a chair, the attachment and automatic securing means may be utilized with a seat rest.

Further variations are within the scope of the present invention, such as, directly attaching the elastic bands to and between the rearward rigid board and the elastomer layer without contacting the positioning member. In this manner when the bolt is moved rearwardly the elastic bands cause the elastomer layer to move backwardly, in turn, pushing the positioning member backwardly towards the bolt.

Also, it is to be understood that the contour adjustable back rest with improvement for the positioning member as herein designed in accordance with the present invention can be applied in the same manner to chair bottoms, sofas, couches or any other seat facilities.

For example, referring now again to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. 5, an adjustable seat contour device 10 identical to that described in detail for the back rest 8 (having like but primed numbers representing similar elements) is provided for adjusting the contour of the seat 6. The adjustable seat contour device 10' and the adjustable back contour device 10 may be used independently, or one or the other may be provided alone in a unit.

The adjustable seat contour device '10 comprises a horizontally extending positioning member 21' disposed between an elastomer layer 13' and a bottom or rigid board 11. A vertically oriented bolt 18' is adapted for movement upwardly or downwardly by turning a knob (not shown) extending below the rigid board, thereby providing for vertically moving the positioning member 21' in the same manner as described in the description of the adjustable back contour device The bolt 18' is threaded and secured in a seat guide piece having a threaded opening (also not shown but similar to that described for the back contour device 10) for providing the vertical movement of the bolt 18'.

The rear 22' of the positioning member 21' is disposed adjacent and contiguous to the inner free end (not shown) of the bolt 18', but is preferably not connected thereto. A positioning sleeve 32' preferably made of metal or the like is afiixed to the center of the rear face 22' of the positioning member 21' by nails 33' or any other suitable means. The positioning sleeve 32' includes a cylinder 34' which has an inner diameter sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the free end of the bolt 18' into which cylinder 34 the bolt 18' is freely disposed, the sleeve 32 insuring that the positioning member 21' does not slip or misalign out of position prior to and during the movement of the bolt 18. Preferably two parallel elastic bands 25 stapled at their ends 26, respectively, with staples 27 to the rigid board 11', defining loops 25a are looped around the ends of the positioning member 21', biasing the positioning member 21' securely against the free end of the bolt 18'.

In operation when the bolt 18' is turned, so as to move upwardly the free end of the bolt 18 pushes the positioning member 21' upwardly thereby stretching the elastic bands 25, to accommodate upward movement of the positioning member relative to the bottom rigid board 11' and pushing the elastomer layer 13 upwardly. Reverse movement of the bolt 18, causes the elastic bands 25, the positioning member 21' and the elastomer layer 13' to move downwardly.

While reference has been made above to the rigid board 11 and 11, respectively, it is to be understood that said board can be replaced by a frame having a cross or any other suitable member or means constituting an equivalent to said board.

While we have disclosed several embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that these embodiments are given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

'We claim:

1. An orthopedic chair, comprising:

a seat,

a back rest,

said back rest including 'a rearward rigid member having at least one opening therein,

a front layer,

an elastomer layer disposed between said rigid member and said front layer,

a rigid positioning member disposed between said elastomer layer and said rigid member and having its rear face opposite said at least one opening,

said rigid positioning member having a front face facing said elastomer layer and substantially parallel to said front layer,

a moveable bolt means disposed through said at least one opening of said rigid member and loosely engaging said positioning member for moving said positioning member forwardly thereby causing said elastomer layer to be moved forwardly and producing a curvature in said front layer, and

resilient means for continuously urging said rear face of said positioning member against said movable bolt means. 2. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

means for securing said front face of said positioning member to said elastomer layer. 3. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said resilient means is connected to said rigid member and engaging said positioning member. 4. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 3, wherein:

said resilient means comprises elastic band means. 5. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 4, wherein:

said elastic band means is secured at its ends to said rigid member forming loops therebetween, said elastic band means and said loops are aligned on both lateral sides of said movable bolt means, and said positioning member is disposed in said loops and said loops abutting said front face of said positioning member. 6. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 5, further comprising:

means for securing said front face of said positioning member to said elastomer layer comprising a layer of glue located on said front face adjacent said loops. 7. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 5, wheresaid elastic band means are secured to said rigid memher at its ends by staples. 8. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 5, wherein:

said elastic band means comprises two elastic bands, each elastic band located laterally on one side of said movable bolt means and forming one loop between its secured ends, "and i said loops of said two elastic bands, respectively, are

aligned parallel relative to one another and perpendicular to said positioning member and disposed about the lateral ends of said positioning member. 9. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 5, wherem:

said ends of said elastic band means encompass said movable bolt means laterally and transversely of said elastic band means. 10. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a positioning sleeve means centrally located on said rear face of said positioning member and having a diameter greater than said movable bolt means, and said movable bolt means freely disposed in said positioning sleeve means. 11. The orthopedic chair, as set forth in claim 10, wherein:

said positioning sleeve means comprises a member aflixed to said positioning member and including a cylinder portion having an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of said movable belt means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 855,656 6/1907 McNamara 297-284 2,756,809 7/1956 Endresen 297284 2,991,124 7/ 1961 Schwartz 297-284 3,069,202 12/1962 Gottfried, et a1 297-355 3,112,137 11/1963 Drenth 297-284 3,197,255 7/ 1965 Caudill 297460 3,215,470 11/1965 Swenson, et al. 297353 3,326,601 6/1967 Vanderbilt, et al. 297284 3,288,525 11/ 196-6 Cerf 297284 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner 

